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Did you know that the first time you apply for Social Security disability in Arkansas your claim will likely be denied?  It’s true.  According to stats collected every year, the percentage of first-time claims that get approved runs around 30% here in Arkansas. That means that roughly 70% of the people who feel they need Social Security disability in Arkansas are denied—even if they actually qualify.

The reasons for the denied claims vary and can include:

  • Improperly filled-out paperwork
  • Current earnings above approved caps
  • The disability (as it’s presented) isn’t debilitating enough
  • The disability is deemed temporary or semi-permanent

Protect Your Future Benefit

Even if any of these reasons for denial apply to you, and you don’t yet qualify for Social Security disability in Arkansas, you can file an application for a period of benefit-free disability. This will effectively “freeze” your income record and will eliminate the risk of your eventual Social Security disability benefit decreasing because you’re not currently bringing in the level of income you’re accustomed to.

Requirements for a Successful Social Security Disability Application in Arkansas

There are several things you can do to help increase the odds of your disability application passing successfully through the approval process the first time around. Continue reading ›

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No one wants to go to court.  Period.  No one looks forward to filing a personal injury claim, but it’s the process that many are forced to take when insurance companies won’t settle for what the claim is worth.  Just because you file a lawsuit, doesn’t mean your case will go all the way to the courtroom.  Rest assured, most cases settle before making it that far.

Most Americans can simply not afford the financial expense associated with a medical emergency or auto accident.  Less than half of us even have enough money in the bank to foot a $1,000 bill, let alone cover our entire medical deductible (which average over $4,000 in the U.S.) if we’re lucky enough to be in the 91% of us that have some form of health insurance. In fact, medical emergencies are the leading cause of personal bankruptcy in the United States. These medical expenses directly contribute to over 50% of the bankruptcy cases in our country.

So what can you do if you’re injured, out of work, and need money to cover even basic expenses like groceries, rent, and utilities? What do you do if those medical bills just keep climbing? If your injury was caused by someone else’s negligence or recklessness (such as a distracted driver) you could potentially file a personal injury claim in Arkansas. Such claims can help victims get financial compensation or reimbursement from legal parties that share in the liability (responsibility) for the accident in which you were injured.

What is a Personal Injury Claim?

A personal injury claim isn’t necessarily the same as a personal injury lawsuit. A personal injury claim is essentially a legal claim that an injured individual makes against an at-fault party (or that party’s insurance policy) in order to get compensation or reimbursement for expenses incurred as a result of an accident.

Claims can result in:

  • Insurance payouts
  • Settlements
  • Court verdicts and jury awards

Continue reading ›

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Motorcycle accidents in Arkansas are devastating no matter how serious they are.   Even an ‘every-day’ crash can cause life-altering injuries for any individual involved.  However, the risk of fatality is also extremely high.  Indeed, not only are motorcyclists more likely to be involved in crashes than automobile operators, they’re more likely to be seriously injured or killed in a crash. Statistics collected by the Insurance Information Institute show that motorcyclists are 27 times more likely to suffer fatal injuries in a crash than their automobile operating cousins.

However, out of all the types of motorcycle collisions (rear-end, sideswiping, “right-hook”), there’s one that’s more deadly than all the rest combined:  head-on collisions.

Head-On Collisions Represent Lion’s Share of Fatal Crashes

The vast majority of fatal motorcycle accidents in Arkansas involve head-on collisions. Those are crashes during which one (or sometimes both) vehicles stray from their designated lane and collide with the other at speed. Some estimates crafted from crash statistics suggest that over 77% of all fatal motorcycle accidents are head-on collisions. Continue reading ›

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Spinal cord injuries are serious and require immediate medical attention.  Even delaying treatment by a few minutes can have serious impacts on your future quality of life.  As a paralysis accident attorney in Arkansas, I’ve seen the fallout of people simply waiting too long to see a doctor because they didn’t think anything was seriously wrong.

Contrary to popular belief, victims may not immediately know if they have a spinal cord injury. However, delaying treatment can greatly increase the risk of permanent damage leading to partial or complete paralysis. That’s why, if you or a loved one has been involved in any type of accident, you must closely monitor your symptoms and immediately contact a medical professional if you even suspect spinal cord injury. Continue reading ›

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Arkansas doesn’t have the best safety record for its nursing homes.   While most are great, clean, welcoming places in which our aging loved ones can live happily for years to come, some have been singled out by state and federal agencies for repeated violations (including severe cases of nursing home abuse in Arkansas, some of which have resulted in fatal accidents). Many have faced fines, closures, and increased governmental oversight.   The owners and staff of nursing homes are entrusted with the care of our loved ones, and that’s an honor and privilege that every nursing home owner and staff member  should take seriously, with no exceptions.

Neglect in Arkansas Nursing Homes

One of the most prevalent abuses in Arkansas’ nursing home systems is neglect.  Care workers in these homes and long-term care facilities are tasked with the duty of monitoring patients and residents. They must:

Continue reading ›

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The actions (or inactions) of one person can have a tremendous effect on the lives of multiple individuals when that person is behind the wheel of an automobile. Slamming one multi-ton piece of machinery into another can have horrific fallout for everyone involved but, as the number of cars on our streets increases, so do the number of multiple-victim crashes. This truth was brought horrifically to light earlier this year when a car accident in Arkansas injured multiple victims and left a trail of destruction and debris throughout a busy intersection. The whole thing was caused because a driver failed to stop for a red light at an intersection in Springdale.

Red Lights Don’t Stop Everyone

Police investigators were able to cobble together eyewitness testimony and physical evidence to reconstruct the crash and found that the inattention of one driver caused the entire mess.   Oftentimes with serious car crashes, a team of accident reconstructionists would need to be called in to reconstruct a scene, but luckily the police officers onsite were able to get the answers they needed there at the scene and with eyewitness testimony. Continue reading ›

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Have you experienced recent unemployment?   Has your company downsized, merged, or been sold?  Has your job simply vanished?   Have you been let go due to financial strains on your employer?    Has your employer laid you off due to the Covid Pandemic?

You’re not alone.  And in spite of what you may be feeling right now, there’s no shame in your circumstances. When life throws us a curveball, all we can do is survive the best we can while making the best of our personal situation. The most common way to do that is to apply for unemployment assistance in Arkansas. Filing an unemployment claim in Arkansas may allow you to temporarily receive financial support based on your past paychecks and could be just what you needed to get you through this rough time.

Understanding how to file an unemployment claim in Arkansas and what to do if that claim is denied isn’t always easy. We’ve created this helpful guide to walk you through the process and answer some of the most common questions about unemployment claims in Arkansas.

Who Controls Unemployment in Arkansas?

Continue reading ›

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When you think of people suffering from serious burn accidents in Arkansas, you might think of construction and utility workers who regularly deal with high-voltage live wires, or maybe welders who use hot plasma and explosive fuels. Chances are that you don’t think about the teenage kid who works in fast-food or the woman behind the deli counter at your local grocery store. But these people are just as likely (if not more so) to suffer serious burns at work in Arkansas as anybody else. In fact, one study published by the Centers for Disease Control found that restaurant workers are the most likely profession to suffer burns while on the job.

 

The Numbers Don’t Lie

Dig a little deeper and the disparity between our perception and reality isn’t that surprising. There were just shy of 7.3 million people employed in the construction industry here in the United States in 2018. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were just 555,000 people employed in the utility industry that same year. By contrast, there were 2.7 million people employed in grocery stores across our country. And restaurants? There were almost 13.5 million in the restaurant industry. Continue reading ›

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Arkansas is a beautiful state in which to live. Unfortunately, the healthcare system in the state could use some improvement.  As with every profession, there are great doctors, and unfortunately some that aren’t.  Arkansas consistently ranks at the bottom of national polls that take into account factors like availability of primary care physicians, doctor/patient ratios, and quality of care. Combine that with the overwhelming lack of resources (comparatively), shortage of nurses, overworked nurses, and it’s no wonder that the risk of being the victim of medical malpractice in Arkansas is so high.

In order to understand the potential danger of suffering medical malpractice at the hands of a trusted doctor in Arkansas, we have to look at multiple factors and estimate how each could potentially affect the quality of care that you receive every time you step through those hospital doors.

Arkansas’ Need for Qualified Physicians is Extremely High

Continue reading ›

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A fatal motorcycle accident in Arkansas earlier this month claimed the life of not only the operator of the bike but his passenger as well. The crash happened in Fayetteville on February 23rd at around 5:30 PM along Bunce Road (near the intersections with Portsmouth Drive and Pleasant Street). Initial police investigations reveal that the 26-year-old operator of the motorcycle collided with an SUV traveling in the opposite direction. The man and his 26-year-old female passenger were killed instantly. The driver of the SUV was taken to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

It’s unclear exactly how the accident occurred. While it’s obvious that one of the vehicles crossed the center line, crash reconstruction artists have yet to state definitively which vehicle stray from their respective travel lane.

No criminal charges have yet to be filed in the case but could be forthcoming depending on the outcome of the police investigation.

Passengers and Their Families Can Hold At-Fault Parties Liable

As is often the case, the passenger also became a victim in this tragic motorcycle accident in Arkansas. Crash statistics show that passengers are as likely as motorcycle operators to be seriously hurt or killed in motorcycle crashes involving passenger cars. Sadly, the passenger is often a close friend or relative of the rider which makes the financial compensation process that must take place after an accident especially hard for survivors.

However, just because a driver may have been a friend or relative, they are not absolved from their legal and moral responsibility to take care of the victim and/or their surviving family members. Fair compensation should include everything a family needs to: Continue reading ›

Contact Information
111 Center St #1200
Little Rock, AR 72201
Phone: 501-374-4440Fax: 501-374-4446
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